night

It had been our years since I had last visited Petra and, to my knowledge, Petra By Night was not available when I had last visited. Since that time I had seen numerous pictures and even some video of the experience and when Valerie and I decided to visit Petra, we agreed to make sure we could attend a Petra By Night Experience and we were not let down.

The experience was amazing! The entire mile long entrance to Petra known as The Siq (Arabic word meaning 'The Shaft') was lined entirely by bags with candles burning in them and they lit up the trail and walls beautifully. I could share some pictures, but please go experience it for yourself if you can as this is one of those experiences that pictures and even video do not do justice compared to experiencing it yourself.

After arriving into the lighted area in front of the tomb known The Treasury which you see in this picture, we were greeted with some much appreciated warm tea on this slightly cold desert night and asked to sit and get comfortable.

Once everyone had arrived and settled into this amazing scene with the towering architecture of the tomb and high above that a cloudless star-filled night sky, the experience continued.

We were welcomed by a Bedouin descendant who explained to us the history of this area, it's use and importance by the Bedouin people and ultimately its discovery, exploration and enjoyment by the world. Petra has been the backdrop for some famous movies including Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom as well as, more recently, Transformers and is easily recognized by many around the world.

After the brief history lesson, the narrator told us of some the Bedouin traditions and about one of the oldest bowed instruments and a Bedouin invention- the rebab. He then welcomed into the middle of the lighted area a local Beduin to play on a flute and a rehab as we all listened with eyes closed or lifted to the heavens drinking in and enjoying the seemingly timeless moment.

If you get a chance to visit Jordan, I highly recommend a trip to Petra and even more so, Petra By Night. Petra by by day is amazing. Petra By Night, I would say, is captivating and magical.

After a brief, but enjoyable time in Malaysia, we headed out to Kathmandu, Nepal where we are getting ready to climb to Everest Base Camp. We had initially given ourselves a few days to get everything in order and then head up the mountain, but Griffin’s camera broke on our last day in Malaysia. It has some kind of software error and all the repair shops in Kathmandu are closed due to the biggest festival of the year here, so we have been in the city for about a week, so far. Kathmandu is an interesting city to explore. Lots of noises, sights, and smells, but not all of them very peaceful or enjoyable to put it lightly. There is a lot of history to be seen and some of the buildings have real charm to them. The people here, from our experience so far, are very kind and helpful and even in the touristy area of Thamel where our hostel is, seem to genuinely appreciate and like talking to us as visitors and friends.
This week’s travel photo is of the man in charge of selling candles at one of the many Hindu temples sprinkled throughout Kathmandu. I chose to photograph him because I felt like he had a kind look to him and the lighting from the candles seems to light up his features and age nicely. I wonder what sort of things he has seen in his lifetime and the changes he has seen in Kathmandu since his birth. The Hindu devotees give a donation to the candle lighter and then put the candle in front of one of the temple idols, possibly saying a prayer in the process. Sorry, I don’t know much about Hinduism, so feel free to let us know more info in the comments if you know more about it.
This photo was taken with the Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] lens which is the first wide angle lens I have had and I am really enjoying it. I feel like it pulls the scene into the camera and shows more of what you can see in reality than an 18mm lens can. Hope you enjoy.

While in Varanasi, India, we were told about a religious ceremony that happens every night in one of the ghats on the Ganges. We decided to go check it out one night and were quite surprised at what a production it was.

There were 7 young men all performing the same rituals while music and bells were join on in the background. The ceremony starts around 7PM and last about an hour. If you come to the ghat before 6PM you can usually get "free" seats at on of the temples for a good view but will be asked to give a donation at the end. We decided not to go for the donation seats, but were able to get a decent views even after showing up at about 5 minutes after 7.
Valerie has written a post about Varanasi that you can view here. It is a very interesting city to say the least.